Invest in children
From the 14-20th October 2012, young people and their
young at heart group leaders from: Croatia, Cyprus,
Ireland, the Netherlands and Portugal discuss poverty
and social inclusion together in a literally and figuratively warm Cyprus.
In just two days this magazine was produced by the
young people themselves. They were the journalists,
photographers, models, art directors (setting their
scenes) and helped the graphic designer to produce
their magazine against poverty.
The magazine was produced as part of a Youth in Action project. The children’s meeting coincides with
a European conference called ‘Investing in Children’
attended by lots of high-level decision makers within
the EU. The young people will disseminate the magazine at the conference, as well as showing an exhibition
‘Sharing is Caring’ to voice their opinion and speak up
against child poverty. The exhibition and the magazine
aim to recruit their ministers, MEP’s and other high
officials and professionals and you in their fight against
the social exclusion of children in Europe.
The Youth in Action project is organised by the Pancyprian Coordinating Committee for the Protection and
Welfare of Children (PCCPWC) and funded through the
Cypriot National Agency for Youth in Action. PCCPWC
is a member of Eurochild – a European network of organisations promoting children’s rights and well-being.
You can also find this magazine online: tinyurl.com/
EuropeanChildrenagainstpoverty. In this way you can
help the young people in their fight by sharing their
work in your social network: Facebook, Twitter and e.g.
in your organisation’s newsletters.
A big thank you to the organisers and facilitators Ninetta, Christiana, Chryso, Simone, Simon & Ruud
– and of course the young magazine makers and their
group leaders for their valuable work, contribution and
effort!
Jana Hainsworth,
Secretary General of Eurochild

04 12 17
Passports to Poverty, Portraits of Young European
Citizens We talked with
the twenty young European magazine makers and
asked them: Who are you?
What action would you take
against poverty if you were
the boss of your country?

18
24
26

From Cyprus with love
Greetings of the group, their
leaders and introducing
their organisations.

Needs, wishes & rights
What are your needs, wishes
and children’s rights? Which
are most important to you?

Exhibition sharing is caring
Young people’s key messages on social inclusion exhibited at European Conference invest
in children.

Time travelling with
Cypriot poverty expert
by Chrystella, André,
Matija, John, Michael
Eurochild improves
quality of life for
children
by Leone, Rui, Olga,
David, Ivan

Passports
to Poverty
Twenty young people from five different European countries participated
in a Youth in Action exchange project called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;European Children Against
Povertyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Who are they? What and how do they feel about poverty? What
would they do for social inclusion if they were the boss of their country,
EU and/or the world? What would you wish for yourself?
4

“Children know best about their needs
and opinions, so let them express
themselves.” Ivan
Results!
Olga

Age: 16
Country: Cyprus
Hobbies:
‘Drawing and swimming.’
Expectations: ‘To have fun and
manage to have a good result.’
If I were the boss:
‘I will make students feel the
same by giving them the same
chances.’

Live aid the sequel
Ivan

Age: 15
Country: Croatia
Hobbies? ‘I play piano and love
photography.’
Expectations? ‘To have a good time
together and learn about poverty and
social inclusion.’
If I were the boss? ‘I would organise
concerts for people who don’t have
enough money for food.’

5

Lower taxes
Romêll

Raise income
Ayoub

Age: 16
Country: The Netherlands
Hobbies: ‘Football.’
Expectations: ‘I hope to learn new
things and see how poverty is dealt
with in other countries and have a
nice week.’
If I were the boss?
‘I would lower the taxes.’

Age: 15
Country: The Netherlands
Hobbies: ‘Football.’
Expectations: ‘I hope to learn new
things and see how things go in
other countries.’
If I were the boss: ‘I would raise
the income of people in difficulties.’

More benefits
Eleni

Age: 16
Country: Cyprus
Hobbies: ‘Drawing and gymnastics,
listening to music and shopping
with friends.’
Expectations: ‘Learn new information about other countries and meet
new people.’
If I were the boss: ‘I would take
economic measures and give more
benefits.’
6

“All children
have the right
to play with
their friends
and have fun.”
Michael

Gaelic football
John

Exciting experience
Michael

Age: 16
Country: Ireland
Hobbies: ‘Football and Gaelic
football, which is a mix between
rugby and football.’
Expectations: ‘Meet new
people and hear what happens in
everybody’s countries.’
If I were the boss:
‘Give a house to everybody.’

Age: 18
Country: Ireland
Hobbies: ‘Football and boxing.’
Expectations: ‘An exciting experience.’
If I were the boss: ‘I would
contribute to improve the lives of Irish
Travellers in Ireland: accommodation,
education, health.’

Invest in education
and health
Rui

Age: 13
Country: Portugal
Hobbies: ‘I like to play basketball,
guitar and like to watch debates
on TV.’
Expectations: ‘I hope to have a good
week and get to know new people
and exchange experiences and
traditions.’
If I were the boss: ‘I would invest in
education and the health of children.
And have psychologists work with
poor people and in schools.’
7

“Everyone
deserves
the same
opportunities
also refugee
children.”
John

PS… I would do something
about the crisis
Irena

Civilians of today
Chrystalla

Age: 16
Country: Cyprus
Hobbies: ‘I like to write essays and
walk in the forest (since I live in a
village), swimming and talk about
society with many people.’
Expectations: ‘To face poverty. We
are the civilians of today. We can
speak up about our problems.’
If I were the boss: ‘I would look at
people first, not at their money.’

Age: 14
Country: Croatia
Hobbies: ‘I play the guitar, draw,
write and do karate.’
Expectations: ‘I hope that this meeting
will be as good as the one on campaigning
against poverty and social inclusion in
Brussels in 2010 or even better.’
If I were the boss? ‘I would include every
child in school, especially Roma children
in our country, in order for them to learn
the Croatian language. Not understanding
a language is a reason for social exclusion.
And… I would do something about the crisis: invest more in children.’

Prevent child criminality
Ossama

Age: 16
Country: The Netherlands
Hobbies: ‘Football and swimming.’
Expectations: ‘I hope to learn
about Cyprus and the situation in
other countries.’
If I were the boss: ‘I would
organise more activities in big
cities to prevent children from
falling into criminality.’

8

Building
Matija

Decrease taxes
Leone

Country: Croatia
Age: 15
Hobbies: ‘I Listen to pop
music and go to the gym for
body building.’
Expectations: ‘To have a fun
and interesting week!’
If I were the boss: ‘I would
organise concerts and meetings
to raise money for poor people
globally.’

Age: 14
Country: The Netherlands
Hobbies: ‘Horseback riding,
reading.’
Expectations: ‘A fruitful week
with a lot of cooperation.’
If I were the boss: ‘I would
decrease the taxes enormously
and lower the prices.’

Cultural exchange
Raphael

Age: 15
Country: Portugal
Hobbies: ‘I play the violin and love
sports like football and basketball.’
Expectations: ‘To have fun and
exchange cultures and learn and
talk about the countries.’
If I were the boss: ‘Going to school
would be free of charge in every
part of the world and mandatory
until the age of 17.’

9

the delegations
Croat delegation: Society ‘Our
children’ Opatija is a voluntary
organisation. It runs activities for
and with children and promotes
children’s rights. Group leaders:
Sanja and Ana.
www.dnd-opatija.hr

Irish delegation: Pavee Point works
with Travellers and members of
the majority population to address
Travellers social and economic exclusion. Group leaders: Patrick and
Maggie. www.pavee.ie

“Enrole
children’s
rights in the
curriculum.”
Patrick

Portuguese delegation: The ASIAssociation is an NGO that runs
activities on development cooperation and the integration of
migrants into Portuguese society.
Group leader: Sergio. www.asi.pt

!

Cypriot delegation: The Pancyprian
Coordinating Committee for the
Protection and Welfare of Children
(PCCPWC) coordinates the activities of district committees for
children and promotes children’s
rights across the country. Group
leaders: Christiana, Chryso and
Ninetta. www.pccpwc.org

Dutch delegation: Spirit is a Dutch
NGO giving help and guidance to
children and young people from
zero to 23 years and their families.
Group leaders: Abdellah and
Abdoulah.www.spirit.nl

Help homeless
Michael

Make a change!
Eduardo

Age: 16
Country: Ireland
Hobbies: ‘Boxing and football.’
Expectations: ‘I hope to have fun
and enjoy my week and learn
more about the culture of other
groups.’
If I were the boss: ‘Help the
homeless and stop young people
from taking drugs.’

Age: 15
Country: Portugal
Hobbies: ‘Swimming, football,
speaking in different languages.’
Expectations: ‘I hope we can
benefit from each others experiences and can make a change.’
If I were the boss: ‘I would make
a survey of the most excluded
people and make it more easy for
them to have access to services
like education, health and build up
from there.’

Barter babe
Antonia

Country: Croatia
Age: 17
Hobbies: ‘Photography and
reading books.’
Expectations: ‘To have a great
time and a lot of swimming.’
If I were the boss: ‘I would call
every president of each country
to find a solution for poverty and
create a chain of barter between
the countries.’

10

Human rights for travellers
David

Friends
André

Age: 16
Country: Ireland
Hobbies: ‘Football.’
Expectations?
‘It’s going to be very good.’
If I were the boss:
‘I would give Travellers human
rights, cause they are human!’

Age: 14
Country: Portugal
Hobbies:
‘Sports and PlayStation 3.’
Expectations: ‘To have nice talks
with friends and be with friends.’
If I were the boss: ‘I would create
a room in every school where a
child who has a problem can speak
to a psychologist.’

Shot-putter
Michalis

Age: 15
Country: Cyprus
Hobbies: ‘Athletics, shot-put
and fixing computers.’
Expectations: ‘I hope to find
solutions between ourselves to
prevent children from facing
poverty in our countries.’
If I were the boss: ‘I would give
more money to professionals that
work at the government, like
teachers and make businesses
work better. So there are enough
jobs for everybody.’

Needs, wishes & rights
Children’s rights
The Convention on the Rights of the Child is a
United Nations Convention. A Convention is an
agreement between countries. It is the most
widely-adopted human rights Convention in the
world, having been ratified by 193 out of the 195
countries. The Convention on the Rights of the
Child was adopted by the General Assembly of the
United Nations in 1989. The Convention covers
everything you deal with in your life from birth to
your eighteenth birthday. It’s about school, living,
health, religion, parents and relatives. But also
about child abuse, child labour, war and refugees.
For more information: www.unicef.org/crc.

You go to a place
where there are
no rules and laws.
What are your most
important needs:

Right to Education (3)
Right to equality (5)
Right to play (1)
Right to health care (3)
Right to express yourself (4)
Right to endorse your own culture (1)
Special assistance for refugee Children (1)
Special assistance for disabled children (1)
Special assistance to children in conflict
with the law (1)

17

Sharing
is caring
exhibition
The youth delegates produced the
exhibition â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Sharing is Caringâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;
to voice their opinion and speak up
against child poverty.

18

19

Ireland presented
by the Irish delegation

In Ireland Travellers face discrimination and live under poor conditions with
regards to health and education (drop-outs
e.g. because of young marriages). Only a
very small percentage of Travellers live
in houses. Because of the poor facilities,
drug and alcohol abuse Travellers die
younger. An average Irish woman lives 12
year longer than a Traveller women – for
men there’s a difference of 10 years. Infant
death is higher as well. Also the suicide
rate is six times higher than in a normal
population. In 2002 a law was introduced
to stop Travellers to travel. Their culture
is taken away from them. Good facilities,
health care, education and respect are
needed to improve the implementing of the
human rights of Travellers.

The Netherlands presented
by Dutch delegation

Like Cyprus, there is relative poverty in
the Netherlands. Some children do not
have enough money for sports or the movies. Children did not choose themselves
to be excluded in life. They must be able
to participate in education and sports.
No uniforms are worn at schools. Some
people wear Louis Vuitton and Nike, others
don’t. Even though there is a gap: it’s not a
conflict. Respect is an important rule in all
Dutch schools. There are authorities to help
young people to buy clothes and participate
in sports e.g. Jeugdsportfonds: www.jeugdsportfonds.nl.

Portugal presented
by Portuguese delegation

The poverty rate is 22% of the Portuguese
inhabitants. Three out of 10 children are
in a poverty situation. The unemployment
rate in Portugal is 16.4%. The child mortality rate is 0,34%. The overall mortality rate
has been reduced. And to pay Portugal’s
state debt, salaries have been cut. Child labour has been reduced to 5% in 2000. When
children are in school they are not working.
There is free access to education till the
12th grade. In some districts the books are
offered for free. Rehabilitation programs
also offer help. A popular Program is Contratos Locais de Desenvolvimento Social.
There are a lot of houses for children with
psychologist to help them.

20

Poverty

These data are based on the
country presentations by the
five European delegations.

Croatia presented
by the Croatian delegation

Croatia is the fifth poorest country in
Europe. 440.000 people are socially excluded. You find more poverty in bigger
households and single parent families. The
Romani community often lives under poor
circumstances. They marry young and
before attending school they hardly speak
Croatian. There is a lack of transparent
data on poverty. To reduce poverty we need
education, financial aid to families, awareness raising and distribution of second
hand items. There are many projects in
Croatia to help children in poverty. Each
year young people have a meeting with
all kinds of societies to discuss what they
have done for children. It is important to
end child poverty. It creates social exclusion, and results in a lack of education and
participation.

in Europe

Cyprus presented
by the Cypriot delegation

In Cyprus 15% of children are at risk of
poverty. Relative poverty is the most
common type of poverty in Cyprus. The
economic crisis is the main reason for
poverty. The companies have reduced
their number of employees. The reason for
the relative low percentage of poverty in
Cyprus is thanks to its culture, traditions
and mentality. Families and parents help
their children a lot. The family support can
cover the dimensions of poverty. There are
social benefits in Cyprus: an educational
and medical system. Governments give free
breakfast to children at school. Also books
are provided in schools and sometimes parents get help to buy school uniforms.

21

s
t
ee
r
t
s
e
h
t
a
c
a
n
r
a
l
f
o
“I don’t know much
about child poverty,
because in Cyprus the
people don’t say much
about it.”

“Child poverty is
terrible, absolutely
awful.”
“Back in the days my
parents didn’t have
much money.”

22

The youth delegations mingled with the locals
and tourists on the streets of Larnaca to ask
them about poverty.

“The parents of my cousin
do not have a lot of money
to provide for example for
my cousin’s clothes.”

“Larnaca is a tourist
place. We don’t have
many clubs for sports
and culture. For sure
we have a soccer club.”

“I’m a Greek actress. I’m
not rich, nor poor. I work
as a flower statute at the
beach to earn extra
money.”

A British man that works at an Indian school
for kids who ran away from home, has a night
shelter and runs the project Hopes and homes
which takes children form the streets in India
and keeps them in shelters similar to orphanages. ‘There are many children living in poverty.
You will never be able to help all of them. All we
can do is help where we can and look after them.’
A Swedish couple says: “We think child
poverty is awful. In case of families we think
they shouldn’t buy things that are unnecessary. We would forbid children being used as
a means of profit.”

Today we interview Androulla Kazamia Paschalidou. We talk with her about poverty
and social exclusion in Cyprus through the
years. In her house we feel like time travellers, travelling a century back. She welcomes us with a smile. We feel comfortable
right from the start.

What can you tell us about yourself,
mrs Androulla?

‘My name is Androulla Kazamia Paschalidou. I am
from an occupied village in Cyprus and I live in
Larnaca for many years now. I was a teacher. When
I retired I was asked to teach at a private university. I am teaching people who want to be primary
teachers. I have many interests, but one of them
is children and how I can protect their lives. I like
children very much. I have four children and seven
grandchildren. We live all together in my house. I
find it important to help families with economical
problems.’

Your house looks like a beautiful museum!
Can you tell us about your interior?

‘First of all this house was built 97 years ago. I try
to keep it as it was. I like classical things and hand
made things as well. This mirror is more than 80
years old. In addition I like things from Africa because I lived in Cameroon. I like also pictures from
different countries and places.’
24

What can you tell us about poverty
in Cyprus?

‘There are families who don’t have milk or bread for
their children. They really suffer from poverty. As a
result, I am afraid for later.’

Do you have experience with poverty?

Off course, 60 years ago it was very different. For
example the education wasn’t free. If you wanted
to go to the secondary school, you had to pay fees. I
was poor. My father didn’t have the money to send
me to the secondary school. Therefore, I had to take
exams in order to go to the secondary school.’
We must have a good future with lot of color!

How can we help children that are poor?
Do you believe that there are solutions for
poverty?
‘Schools can help people who are poor. First of
all schools can give children free breakfast in the
morning. Also children stay in schools until four
o’clock because there are some parents that work

until late and it’s difficult to take their children
from school. Children can stay in school, do their
homework and have fun and also they can learn
more things.’

And what about the psychological world of
children who are poor?
‘We can help children with psychologists and we
can encourage them. We must have a good future
with lot of color! When we fail we have to stand
up. Life is like a sea. Sometimes with storm and
sometimes peacefully. So we have to have courage
to live.’

“ALL TOGETHER WE
CAN FACE POVERTY!”
25

Text and photography by Leone, Rui, Olga, David, Ivan

Eurochild improves
quality of life for
children
Eurochild is a network with members from across Europe. It aims to improve the quality of life of European
children. In Eurochild there are 148 members from
all countries in the European Zone.

Eurochild’s member PCCPWC is the main
organiser of this European Children
Against Poverty. To know more about the
organisation we talk to Jana Hainsworth,
the General Secretary of Eurochild.
Jana says: ‘Eurochild works with children
between zero and 18 years of age. Our
organisation is promoting the rights of
children and is based on the Convention on
the Rights of the Child.’
We ask her about how Eurochild is supported to do its work she says: ‘We actually
receive money from the European Commission, and members pay to be part of the
network. We also get support from projects
and partner organisations and foundations.’
Eurochild’s work is crucial for children. It
is our hope we are going to support children as long as we can.
And we ask how she thinks the economic
crisis in Europe is affecting children. ‘We
get information from our members. So

26

we have a perception how the economic
crisis is affecting children. This differs in
the Europe countries. In many countries
our members are telling us the economic
crisis has a very strong impact in society
and especially on the poverty level. Lots of
parents with children are losing their jobs
or suffer from salary cuts.’
Jana’s states: ‘Eurochild’s work can help
give visibility to children. We want to make
sure children have a voice.’

“in many
countries our
members tell us
the economic
crisis has very
strong impact”

27

Text and photography by Rafael, Romêll, Ayoub, Antonia

Everybody
needs a
home
You can start just by helping
people from your neighborhood.
The European Union has 27 states but they
all have one big common problem, housing.

No homeless people in Cyprus

Housing means not only having a roof over
your head but also proper conditions of living. Our information is based on interviews
with representatives of Croatia, the Netherlands, Cyprus and Portugal about their
experiences during our European Children
Against Poverty.

In Cyprus the goal of people since childhood, is to own a house. Therefore there
are no homeless people in Cyprus. Only
67 children live in residential care but it’s
usually for a very short time until a foster
home can be found. Students who are still
studying can rent a house or an apartment.

Croatia offers free flats for students

Portugal high house prices

One part of Croatia is next to the sea. People who live on islands live in houses and
many others on the mainland live in flats.
Croatia has many homeless people because
of unemployment. They live in shelters
provided by the city. Children without
parents live in community houses and they
have free education. After becoming 18,
young people can choose if they want to
continue studying, or not. If they do, they
are offered free flats by the government.
Children with problems in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands most people own
houses. Homeless people in big cities live

28

in shelters that provide them clothes. You
also find youth ‘hanging’ and even living
on the streets. People call them children
with problems.

In Portugal a lot of people live in houses,
but they are rented because the price of
houses are high. It is cheaper to rent, because you don’t have to pay as many taxes
as an owner. At schools in the big cities,
they don’t really see poverty or crime, but
outside it is visible like in all countries.
This problem is getting bigger and worse,
so, why don’t we join and solve this problem? Start by helping people from your
own neighborhood.

Education is a vital part of growing up as an individual who cares and
wants to be an active part of their country. Despite almost everyone
knowing this, some countries do not respect this important right.
We - a group composed of Irish, Portuguese and
Cypriots - asked the (youth) professionals during
this European Children Against Poverty what education means in their countries.

tary school is free (that is from the first to the eight
grade). They are also trying to educate people in
other subjects by introducing for example Medical
Care and Democratic Education.’

The Netherlands support students
with scholarships

Ireland cuts funding

The results of these interviews were an eye opener
regarding education in different countries. Simon
Cordes, from Holland, says: ‘In our country we find
education very important. The government encourages young people to attend college by supporting
them through scholarships.’

Portugal believes in the next generation

The Portuguese situation is very similar. ‘Our country believes in the next generation’, says Sérgio
Hugo Costa Araujo. He continues: ‘Since education
is free until the end of high school, the after school
programs are supported by the schools. Also children with special needs are supported by society.’

Croatia, country of knowledge

Croatian, Sanja Šcorić says: My country wants to
be a country of knowledge. The new government
wants to obligate High School for everyone; elemen-

Maggie Ryan, from Ireland shares: ‘Our government has cut funding to education from pre-school
to third-level. This will have a long-term impact,
which is sad because education was seen as invaluable.’

Cyprus education is free for all children

Ninetta Kazantzis, from Cyprus tells: ‘Our country
values its education highly because since 1960
education is free for all children until the age of 18.
But she also thinks that education is highly valued
by the people in general and parents want their
children to be educated in order to live a better life.’
With all of this we can conclude that education is
very important for all children and cannot be put
aside.